Letter: Proposed bridge to nowhere offers no practical purpose

A concern of local people, as you state, is the proposed footbridge across the River Corve into Fishmore View. 'The Bridge to Nowhere" as it should be named, as it serves no conceivable practical purpose.

The comment in your report that residents of Fishmore View Ludlow oppose the bridge because of parking concerns is not entirely correct. The main areas of concern are as follows:

The bridge does not lead onto any direct routes into town.

It does not lead to any schools or other facilities, other than a small play area.

It would in fact result in serious potential danger to young children on both estates. The bridge would cross not only the River Corve itself, but also run through an area subject to extensive severe flooding after heavy rain.

The small play area on the Fishmore View side of the river would not be in sight of parents' homes on the new development, which surely would be a worry for them.

The need for access to this from the development is particularly puzzling, as park facilities are included in the development plan for the estate.

Residents of Fishmore View also have security concerns. The bridge would allow easier access to the open ground facing their houses which already is on occasion used by various dubious characters, under-age drinking parties and so on.

The obvious place for a bridge or subway is across the railway line onto Bromfield Road, leading to schools, the recreation centre and the direct route into town via Coronation Avenue.

The footbridge over the River Corve would need to be an estimated 250 metres in length and 23 metres above the bed of the River Corve in order to span both the river, its slopes and the potential flood area. An extremely expensive outlay for a bridge which leads nowhere.

The overwhelming majority of residents, 23 out of 27 households surveyed, don't want this bridge.

I am reliably informed that the developers no longer want it. And that in fact the only people who do want it are the officers of Shropshire County Council Planning Department.

Isn't it time that, for once, the planners started to listen to what the people whose interests they are supposed to represent actually want?

John Barratt, Ludlow